Celebrities Who Became Even Fiercer After Ditching Their Exes

Kristinia DeBarge made “single girl swag” (SGS) a way of life with her addictive and anthemic 2009 smash “Goodbye.” (If you haven’t listened to it, then you truly haven’t lived.) She was only 19 then, but Kristinia was definitely onto something. “Single girl swag” is when you can finally live your damn life to the fullest after cutting ties with a no-good, soul-sucking scrub. You don’t have to be a girl to know this feeling: Everyone with a psycho ex can.

These seven females are the epitome of SGS. After ditching their douche-tastic ball-on-chains, their slayage truly began. They released hit albums, made even hotter boos their playthings and basically killed it on every level. Whether or not they’re single now is irrelevant. What matters is they bid adieu to problematic man-children, and they’re better for it. So are we.

1 Madonna

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Madonna broke up with 26-year-old dancer Brahim Zaibat in late 2013 and quickly became more badass than ever —which was surprisingly possible. She flashed her butt in public, ate pizza on camera and—most important—released one of her most autobiographical albums to date (2015’s Rebel Heart). Even better? She hints at Brahim’s lack of sexy-time prowess in the song “Unapologetic Bitch.” “When we did it, I’ll admit it, wasn’t satisfied,” she sings. Tell us how you really feel, Madge!

RiRi has always been a ballsy chick, but she achieved new levels of cool after parting ways with Chris Brown in 2009. It started with her 2009 album Rated R, arguably her rawest and most provocative ever. A string of hits and (rumored) boy-toys later, Rihanna appears to have more SGS than your faves. Now if she can just give us #R8…

3 Kourtney Kardashian

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After Kourtney and longtime boyfriend Scott Disick called it quits this summer, she started laying thirst traps left and right on Instagram. If her bangin’ body is any indication, Kourtney is doing just fine sans Scott. What a goddess.

Selena’s narrative has always been associated with longtime boyfriend Justin Bieber. Now that she’s completely free of him (or so we think), she’s let her DGAF flag fly. She shrugged off body-shamers for her curvier (and sexier) body, embraced the casual dating life and released the best LP of her career. On Revival, which dropped earlier this month, Selena is exposed, real and ready to party. Are we invited, babe?

5 Miley Cyrus

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After splitting from fiancé Liam Hemsworth in 2013, Miley’s persona became increasingly more—well—Miley. Triggered by her twerk-tastic performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, Miley cared less about being the pretty girl next door and more about self-expression. She slashed her hair, spoke openly about her sexual fluidity and became an unexpected voice for the disenfranchised. A far cry from Hannah Montana, and thank goodness for that.

6 Karrueche Tran

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Karrueche famously dated Breezy, but she arguably became more famous after their break-up. (If you forgot, Karrueche found out on social media Chris fathered a child.) K’s swag comes from her blossoming screen career. She plays Vanessa in the Web series Vanity and left us star-fished in the Oscar-worthy 3 Headed Shark Attack. You need to watch it immediately.

7 Miss Piggy

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Miss Piggy kicked that froggy jerk Kermit to the curb after more than 40 years of dating. But don’t think she’s staying at home with Nutella and Netflix. “I do go out pretty much every night with a new face,” Piggy said in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel . She’s living her best life.